One
new Visions of Switzerland County
shops feature Amish-made items

By
Konnie McCollum
Staff Writer

VEVAY, Ind. (April 2007)  Two new stores have
opened in Vevay, Ind., Amish Goods of Switzerland County and Antiques
and Treasures. The stores, which opened in January, are part of Visions
of Switzerland County, an economic development cooperative project involving
several organizations in the county.

Photo
by Ashlie Petrakos

Antiques
and Treasures features an
array of goods, including glass
collectibles and antique furniture.

Angie Satterfield, project coordinator for Visions of
Switzerland County, said several Amish representatives came to an agro-economic
development meeting held last year. They were interested in being involved
in the project.
She said there are about 60 Amish families from two different sects
of Amish people; the majority of Amish in the county are Swiss, while
about 23 families are part of the Pennsylvania Dutch group.
When the idea was formed to put together a store of handcrafted Amish
goods, Amish elders, who represent the community as a whole, were contacted.
They worked with officials to get the shop up and running.
It is still a work in progress to develop products, but it is
really off to a great start, said Satterfield.
At this time, there are about 12 participating Amish families who have
supplied an array of goods, she said. Among the handcrafted items are
quilted hand bags by Ruth Miller, Amish dolls, handmade cedar furniture,
pottery, and canvas tote bags.
Satterfield said there are several books by the Wickey Sisters, including
Country Remedies, Amish Cookbook, Bluegrass
Music, and Horse Coloring Book. She said all of the
books are extremely popular.
The items that seem to be in the hottest demand, however, are the Amish
jams, jellies and preserves. We can barely keep them stocked,
Satterfield said.
The handmade furniture includes both indoor and outdoor furniture and
swings, and bentwood rockers made from willow wood. A group of young
Amish men have made custom knives with deer antler handles and embedded
Indiana state coins in the ends. They have also made frontier looking
tortoise shell carryalls.
We get new stuff daily, including Amish quilts in a variety of
patterns and hand-sewn aprons, said Satterfield. She noted there
are also oil paintings featuring country scenes on canvas, wood, saw
blades and even shelf-fungus by Amish artist Jacob Brennerman.
Amish Goods of Switzerland County also takes custom orders on many of
the handcrafted items.
Antiques and Treasures is a unique store that houses anything from small
paper collectibles to large antique wardrobes. With over 45 different
vendors, the selection of collectibles and antiques is vast. If
we dont have it, we will find it; just ask at the front desk,
and we will track it down, said Satterfield.
Among the items are a variety of glassware, table sets from the primitive
to the finer pieces, and a mixture of other antiques. From retro
to funky, we have it, said Satterfield.
She added that Antiques and Treasures has the most turnover and the
most influx of new products of any of the four Visions stores.

 Amish Goods of Switzerland County is located
at 112 W. Main St., and Antiques and Treasures is located at 114 W.
Main St. For more information about either store, call (812) 427-2143.